DOCSLIB.ORG

Reconstituting Korean Security

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reconstituting Korean Security United Nations University Press is the publishing arm of the United Nations University. UNU Press publishes scholarly and policy-oriented books and periodicals on the issues facing the United Nations and its peoples and member states, with particular emphasis upon international, regional and trans-boundary policies. The United Nations University was established as a subsidiary organ of the United Nations by General Assembly Resolution 2951 (XXVII) of 11 December 1972. It functions as an international community of scholars engaged in research, postgraduate training and the dissemination of knowledge to address the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of the United Nations and its agencies. Its activities are devoted to advancing knowledge for human security and development and are focused on issues of peace and governance and environment and sustainable development. The Univer- sity operates through a worldwide network of research and training centres and programmes and its planning and coordinating centre in Tokyo. Reconstituting Korean security Reconstituting Korean security: A policy primer Edited by Hazel Smith United Nations a University Press TOKYO u NEW YORK u PARIS 6 United Nations University, 2007 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not nec- essarily reflect the views of the United Nations University. United Nations University Press United Nations University, 53–70, Jingumae 5-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925, Japan Tel: þ81-3-3499-2811 Fax: þ81-3-3406-7345 E-mail: [email protected] General enquiries: [email protected] http://www.unu.edu United Nations University Office at the United Nations, New York 2 United Nations Plaza, Room DC2-2062, New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: þ1-212-963-6387 Fax: þ1-212-371-9454 E-mail: [email protected] United Nations University Press is the publishing division of the United Nations University. Cover design by Mea Rhee Printed in Hong Kong ISBN 978-92-808-1144-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Reconstituting Korean security : a policy primer / edited by Hazel Smith. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-9280811445 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Nuclear nonproliferation—Korea (North) 2. Nuclear weapons—Social aspects—Korea (North) 3. National security—Korea (North) 4. Korea (North)—Foreign relations. I. Smith, Hazel, 1954– JZ5675.R43 2007 3550.0330519—dc22 2007015643 Contents Tablesandfigures..................................................... vii Acknowledgements . ............................. ix Foreword .............................................................. x Ambassador Donald P. Gregg Contributors........................................................... xiii Abbreviations ......................................................... xvi 1 ReconstitutingKoreansecuritydilemmas ....................... 1 Hazel Smith 2 CreatingKoreaninsecurity:TheUSrole ........................ 21 Bruce Cumings 3 Living with ambiguity: North Korea’s strategic weapons programmes........................................................ 43 Gary Samore and Adam Ward 4 Economic security in the DPRK . ............................. 65 Bradley O. Babson vi CONTENTS 5 Food security: The case for multisectoral and multilateral cooperation ........................................................ 82 Hazel Smith 6 The preconditions for Korean security: US policy and the legacyof1945 ..................................................... 103 Selig S. Harrison 7 The DPRK economic crisis and the ROK security dilemma . 124 Suk Lee 8 Koreansecuritydilemmas:Chinesepolicies..................... 145 Ren Xiao 9 JapanandNorthKorea– Thequestfornormalcy .............. 162 Gavan McCormack 10 Koreansecuritydilemmas:A Russianperspective.............. 182 Georgy Bulychev 11 Koreansecuritydilemmas:EuropeanUnionpolicies ........... 213 Maria Castillo Fernandez 12 Korean security dilemmas: ASEAN policies and perspective . 230 John D. Ciorciari 13 Koreansecurity:A policyprimer ................................ 253 Hazel Smith Bibliography .......................................................... 269 Index .................................................................. 285 Tables and figures Tables 1.1 Defence budgets of the parties to the Six-Party Talks, 2004 and 2005 . ........................................................ 7 1.2 DPRKdemographicindicators ................................. 11 4.1 DPRK gross national income and budget, 1990–2004 . 67 4.2 Estimatedbudgetexpenditure,1994and2004................. 71 5.1 Cereal deficits from FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply AssessmentsintheDPRK ...................................... 89 5.2 Area planted and production, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 . 90 7.1 DPRK macroeconomic performance and population: Official data,1990–2000 ................................................. 127 7.2 DPRK macroeconomic performance: Outside estimates, 1990–2000 ........................................................ 129 7.3 Yang’s estimation of the DPRK’s productivity: Total output function .......................................................... 130 7.4 Lee’s estimation of the DPRK’s productivity: Grain production function . ....................................... 130 7.5 DPRK food refugee interviews: Where are the food shortagesmostsevere?.......................................... 132 7.6 Urbanization and chronic malnourishment of children in the DPRK............................................................ 132 7.7 Trends in ROK–DPRK economic, social and cultural cooperation,1996–2002 ......................................... 139 7.8 Trends in ROK humanitarian aid to the DPRK, 1996–2002 . 139 vii viii TABLES AND FIGURES Figures 1.1 DPRK population and per capita national income, 1998– 2004.............................................................. 10 1.2 The prevalence of stunting (low height-for-age) for children under 72 months in DPRK Nutrition Assessments of 2002 and2004 ......................................................... 12 5.1 DPRK cereal production, 1995/1996–2000/2001 ............... 86 7.1 DPRK industrial production, 1946–1996 . ...................... 125 7.2 DPRK grain production, 1946–1996 ........................... 126 Acknowledgements This volume is the product of a two-year collaborative research venture that brought together contributors and a number of other participants in workshops and conferences held under the auspices of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the United Nations University (UNU) in London in May 2004 and in Beijing in December 2004. Contributors have since developed and expanded their arguments, with this volume benefiting from feedback from conference participants and anonymous peer reviewers from UNU Press. I would like to thank all the contributors who worked so hard to de- liver the chapters. I would also like to thank Ambassador Paul Beijer, Victor Cha and Kathi Zellweger, who kindly spoke at the workshops that formed an integral part of the research project. Many thanks too to Yoshie Sawada at UNU, who provided wonderful, timely and profes- sional support to this project. I would also like to thank Scott McQuade, Yoko Kojima and all at UNU Press who yet again made sure that the project passed smoothly through all the necessary publishing hurdles. This book is intended to contribute to finding ways to benefit the long- suffering people of North Korea. I hope that it will do so. Hazel Smith ix Foreword Ambassador Donald P. Gregg Chairman of the Board, The Korea Society, New York This book should come as meat and drink to those who have been look- ing for a multidisciplinary, internationally oriented approach to the many problems that will arise when North Korea slowly emerges from its self- imposed isolation. For far too long we have had only the very thin gruel of moralistic demonization of North Korea and its leaders, as practiced by neoconservatives in and around the Bush administration. Their ap- proach is centered on the fallacious theory that ‘‘regime change’’ involv- ing the removal of Kim Jong Il would make North Korea far easier to deal with. This would be no more true in North Korea than it has been in Iraq. Totalitarian leadership of any country creates a myriad of soci- etal issues that remain to be dealt with by successors, whether they are externally imposed or internally produced. Dr Hazel Smith has spent years in North Korea, dealing with humani- tarian issues, and possesses an acute sense of the textures of North Ko- rean society. In her excellent opening chapter, which offers a clear over- view of the rest of the book, Dr Smith stresses the point that ‘‘history matters.’’ Dr Smith, a UK citizen and keen observer of the US role on the Korean peninsula, past and present, is well positioned to make that point, particularly as it applies to Americans, because we Americans have a woeful tendency to think that history begins only when we be- come aware of and involved in a particular issue. For example, burial mounds on Kangwha Island, containing the bodies of hundreds of Korean soldiers blown up in their mud forts by the US naval incursion into Korea of 1871, the miserable Taft–Katsura Pact of x FOREWORD xi 1905, which opened the way for Japan’s occupation of Korea, and our arbitrary division of Korea, made in haste in 1945, are all matters known to virtually every Korean, but are ‘‘terra incognita’’ to us. For the vast majority of Americans, Korean history ‘‘begins’’ on 25 June 1950, when North Korea invaded
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 6/06 Neoliberalism and the Gwangju Uprising
    8/1/2020 Neoliberalism and the Gwangju Uprising Neoliberalism and the Gwangju Uprising By Georgy Katsiaficas Abstract Drawing from US Embassy documents, World Bank statistics, and memoirs of former US Ambassador Gleysteen and Commanding General Wickham, US actions during Chun Doo Hwan’s first months in power are examined. The Embassy’s chief concern in this period was liberalization of the Korean economy and securing US bankers’ continuing investments. Political liberalization was rejected as an appropriate goal, thereby strengthening Korean anti-Americanism. The timing of economic reforms and US support for Chun indicate that the suppression of the Gwangju Uprising made possible the rapid imposition of the neoliberal accumulation regime in the ROK. With the long-term success of increasing American returns on investments, serious strains are placed on the US/ROK alliance. South Korean Anti-Americanism Anti-Americanism in South Korea remains a significant problem, one that simply won’t disappear. As late as 1980, the vast majority of South Koreans believed the United States was a great friend and would help them achieve democracy. During the Gwangju Uprising, the point of genesis of contemporary anti-Americanism, a rumor that was widely believed had the aircraft carrier USS Coal Sea entering Korean waters to aid the insurgents against Chun Doo Hwan and the new military dictatorship. Once it became apparent that the US had supported Chun and encouraged the new military authorities to suppress the uprising (even requesting that they delay the re-entry of troops into the city until after the Coral Sea had arrived), anti-Americanism in South Korea emerged with startling rapidity and unexpected longevity.
    [Show full text]
  • South Korea Section 3
    DEFENSE WHITE PAPER Message from the Minister of National Defense The year 2010 marked the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. Since the end of the war, the Republic of Korea has made such great strides and its economy now ranks among the 10-plus largest economies in the world. Out of the ashes of the war, it has risen from an aid recipient to a donor nation. Korea’s economic miracle rests on the strength and commitment of the ROK military. However, the threat of war and persistent security concerns remain undiminished on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea is threatening peace with its recent surprise attack against the ROK Ship CheonanDQGLWV¿ULQJRIDUWLOOHU\DW<HRQS\HRQJ Island. The series of illegitimate armed provocations by the North have left a fragile peace on the Korean Peninsula. Transnational and non-military threats coupled with potential conflicts among Northeast Asian countries add another element that further jeopardizes the Korean Peninsula’s security. To handle security threats, the ROK military has instituted its Defense Vision to foster an ‘Advanced Elite Military,’ which will realize the said Vision. As part of the efforts, the ROK military complemented the Defense Reform Basic Plan and has UHYDPSHGLWVZHDSRQSURFXUHPHQWDQGDFTXLVLWLRQV\VWHP,QDGGLWLRQLWKDVUHYDPSHGWKHHGXFDWLRQDOV\VWHPIRURI¿FHUVZKLOH strengthening the current training system by extending the basic training period and by taking other measures. The military has also endeavored to invigorate the defense industry as an exporter so the defense economy may develop as a new growth engine for the entire Korean economy. To reduce any possible inconveniences that Koreans may experience, the military has reformed its defense rules and regulations to ease the standards necessary to designate a Military Installation Protection Zone.
    [Show full text]
  • The Three Revolutions of Syngman Rhee
    IKS and the History Department’s Center for Historical Research are pleased to co-sponsor: The Three Revolutions of Syngman Rhee Friday, January 18, 2019 3:00-4:30pm Dulles Hall 168 230 Annie and John Glenn Ave David Fields University of Wisconsin-Madison Abstract: In the pantheon of authoritarian strongmen of the Cold War, it is tempting to think of Syngman Rhee as the one we know the best. Prior to his return to Korea in 1945— courtesy of a War Department transport plane—Rhee spent nearly forty years in the United States. He earned degrees from Harvard and Princeton, spoke English fluently, and was a dedicated Christian to boot. He seemed tailor-made for the task of assisting the U.S. Army to occupy a country that did not want to be occupied. But Rhee was not returning to Korea as an American miracle man, but as a Korean revolutionary hero who had struggled against the power structures of the traditional Korean state and the Japanese occupation. Back on Kore- an soil he would lead a third revolution against both the last vestiges of the Chosun state– which the Japanese had largely left in place–and what he believed was a Soviet effort to subjugate the entire peninsula. This lecture will examine Syngman Rhee’s role as a revolu- tionary and what it can teach us about the Korean Independence Movement, the Division of Korea, and the Korean War. Bio: David P. Fields is the author of Foreign Friends: Syngman Rhee, American Excep- tionalism, and the Division of Korea (University Press of Kentucky, 2019).
    [Show full text]
  • About a Dragon Free
    FREE ABOUT A DRAGON PDF G. A. Aiken | 352 pages | 02 Dec 2008 | Kensington Publishing | 9781420103748 | English | New York, United States Dragon - Wikipedia Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want About a Dragon read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — About a Dragon by G. About a Dragon Dragon Kin 2 by About a Dragon. Existence as a hated outcast is nothing new for a woman with such powerful secrets. The dragon, though? A tad unusual. This one has a human form to die for, and knows it. According to dragon law, Talaith is now his property, for pleasure…or otherwise. Get A Copy. Mass Market Paperbackpages. Published December 1st by Zebra first published August 1st More Details Original Title. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about About a Dragonplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start About a Dragon review of About a Dragon Dragon Kin, 2. Oct 21, Alp rated it really liked it Shelves: dragons About a Dragon, fantasy-romance. Almost great. Oh yeah, I liked it! To tell you the truth, during the first few chapters, I was a little hesitant as to whether I should put this book down or not.
    [Show full text]
  • Crimson Dragon 2
    Brief Prologue "Ahh!" Pyrothraxus cried. "Get it off! Get it off!" The ent latched onto his ear frill tightly, grinding his splintery teeth against the membrane. He pulled down upon Pyrothraxus, bending the Red Dragon's neck awkwardly. Though the ent was as tall as Pyrothraxus' shoulder, Pyrothraxus still had another 40 feet to his neck. With one snap of the ent's shoulders, Pyrothraxus came toppling down onto his side. "Give it back to me!" the ent bellowed. "Give it back now!" "What?" Pyrothraxus asked. "Give what back?" The ent pulled harder, wrapping his arms around Pyrothraxus' neck and holding him tightly in a lock. The Red Dragon struggled under the great strength of the tree ent's branch-like arms. "Aiyah, Jonathan!" called Lao Shi from the pavement. "Just give whatever it is he wants back to him." "I don't know what it is he wants," Pyrothraxus growled back, trying to pull himself away from the vice-like grip of the ent's arms. "You're the dragon who stole it!" the ent shouted. "Stole what?" Pyrothraxus asked. The ent let loose a hollow bellow and flipped Pyrothraxus over onto his back. Cars parked in the street were suddenly tossed into the air by the Red Dragon's thrashing tail. Pyrothraxus gripped his claws into the pavement, sending the tar cracking and splintering across the surface. "Give it back!" the ent bellowed, tightening his grip around the dragon's neck. "That's it, I'm getting tired of guessing games, here," Pyrothraxus growled, black smoke slowly rising up from his nostrils.
    [Show full text]
  • New Evidence on the Korean War
    176 COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN 11 New Evidence on the Korean War Editor’s note: The documents featured in this section of the Bulletin present new evidence on the allegations that the United States used bacteriological weapons during the Korean War. In the accompanying commentaries, historian Kathryn Weathersby and scientist Milton Leitenberg (University of Maryland) provide analysis, context and interpretation of these documents. Unlike other documents published in the Bulletin, these documents, first obtained and published (in Japanese) by the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun, have not been authenticated by access to the archival originals (or even photocopies thereof). The documents were copied by hand in the Russian Presidential Archive in Moscow, then typed. Though both commentators believe them to be genuine based on textual analysis, questions about the authenticity of the documents, as the commentators note, will remain until the original documents become available in the archives. Copies of the typed transcription (in Russian) have been deposited at the National Security Archive, a non-governmental research institute and repository of declassified documents based at George Washington University (Gelman Library, Suite 701; 2130 H St., NW; Washington, DC 20037; tel: 202/994-7000; fax: 202/ 994-7005) and are accessible to researchers. CWIHP welcomes the discussion of these new findings and encourages the release of the originals and additional materials on the issue from Russian, Chinese, Korean and U.S. archives. Deceiving the Deceivers: Moscow, Beijing, Pyongyang, and the Allegations of Bacteriological Weapons Use in Korea By Kathryn Weathersby n January 1998 the Japanese newspaper Sankei raised by their irregular provenance? Their style and form Shimbun published excerpts from a collection of do not raise suspicion.
    [Show full text]
  • Surviving Through the Post-Cold War Era: the Evolution of Foreign Policy in North Korea
    UC Berkeley Berkeley Undergraduate Journal Title Surviving Through The Post-Cold War Era: The Evolution of Foreign Policy In North Korea Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4nj1x91n Journal Berkeley Undergraduate Journal, 21(2) ISSN 1099-5331 Author Yee, Samuel Publication Date 2008 DOI 10.5070/B3212007665 Peer reviewed|Undergraduate eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Introduction “When the establishment of ‘diplomatic relations’ with south Korea by the Soviet Union is viewed from another angle, no matter what their subjective intentions may be, it, in the final analysis, cannot be construed otherwise than openly joining the United States in its basic strategy aimed at freezing the division of Korea into ‘two Koreas,’ isolating us internationally and guiding us to ‘opening’ and thus overthrowing the socialist system in our country [….] However, our people will march forward, full of confidence in victory, without vacillation in any wind, under the unfurled banner of the Juche1 idea and defend their socialist position as an impregnable fortress.” 2 The Rodong Sinmun article quoted above was published in October 5, 1990, and was written as a response to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union, a critical ally for the North Korean regime, and South Korea, its archrival. The North Korean government’s main reactions to the changes taking place in the international environment during this time are illustrated clearly in this passage: fear of increased isolation, apprehension of external threats, and resistance to reform. The transformation of the international situation between the years of 1989 and 1992 presented a daunting challenge for the already struggling North Korean government.
    [Show full text]
  • Metropolis Filmelméleti És Filmtörténeti Folyóirat 20. Évf. 3. Sz. (2016/3.)
    900 Ft 2016 03 Filmfesztiválok filmelméleti és filmtörténeti folyóirat 2016 3. szám Filmfesztiválok Fahlenbrach8_Layout 1 2016.05.08. 4:13 Page 26 c[jhefeb_i <_bc[bcb[j_ i \_bcjhjd[j_ \ebo_hWj t a r t a l o m XX. évfolyam 3. szám A szerkesztõbizottság Filmfesztiválok tagjai: Bíró Yvette 6 Fábics Natália: Bevezetõ a Filmfesztiválok összeállításhoz Gelencsér Gábor Hirsch Tibor 8 Thomas Elsaesser: A filmfesztiválok hálózata Király Jenõ A filmmûvészet új európai topográfiája Kovács András Bálint Fábics Natália fordítása A szerkesztôség tagjai: 28 Dorota Ostrowska: A cannes-i filmfesztivál filmtörténeti szerepe Vajdovich Györgyi Fábics Natália fordítása Varga Balázs Vincze Teréz 40 Varga Balázs: Presztízspiacok Filmek, szerzõk és nemzeti filmkultúrák a nemzetközi A szám szerkesztõi: fesztiválok kortárs hálózatában Fábics Natália Varga Balázs 52 Fábics Natália: Vér és erõszak nélkül a vörös szõnyegen Takashi Miike, az ázsiai mozi rosszfiújának átmeneti Szerkesztõségi munkatárs: domesztikálódása Jordán Helén 60 Orosz Anna Ida: Az animációsfilm-mûvészet védõbástyái Korrektor: Jagicza Éva 67 Filmfesztiválok — Válogatott bibliográfia Szerkesztõség: 1082 Bp., Horváth Mihály tér 16. K r i t i k a Tel.: 06-20-483-2523 (Jordán Helén) 72 Árva Márton: Paul A. Schroeder Rodríguez: Latin American E-mail: [email protected] Cinema — A Comparative History Felelõs szerkesztõ: 75 Szerzõink Vajdovich Györgyi ISSN 1416-8154 Kiadja: Számunk megjelenéséhez segítséget nyújtott Kosztolányi Dezsõ Kávéház a Nemzeti Kulturális Alap. Kulturális Alapítvány Felelõs kiadó: Varga Balázs Terjesztõ: Holczer Miklós [email protected] 36-30-932-8899 Arculatterv: Szász Regina és Szabó Hevér András Tördelõszerkesztõ: Zrinyifalvi Gábor Borítóterv és KÖVETKEZÕ SZÁMUNK TÉMÁJA: nyomdai elõkészítés: Atelier Kft. FÉRFI ÉS NÕI SZEREPEK A MAGYAR FILMBEN Nyomja: X-Site.hu Kft.
    [Show full text]
  • GS Energy Brochure Download
    Company Introduction COPYRIGHT © 2012 GS ENERRGY. All RIGHTS RESERVED GS Energy Profile p.03 Subsidiaries p.04 Business Portfolio Refining & Petrochemicals p.05 Gas & Power p.07 Exploration & Production p.12 Green Growth p.14 GS Energy R&D Center p.18 Financial Information p.19 Contact Us p.20 History p.21 COPYRIGHT © 2012 GS ENERRGY. All RIGHTS RESERVED Corporate Profile GS Energy was incorporated on January 3, 2012 as a result of GS Holdings’ spinoff of GS Caltex, its refining, marketing, chemicals and transportation arm, creating a new independent Korean energy company. Subsequently, GS Energy assumed the high growth businesses previously operated by GS Caltex including, exploration & production and renewable energy operations. Further, by acquiring GS Caltex’s electric & gas utilities operations, GS Energy has solidified its position as an integrated energy-specialized holding company. Value chain integration and operational agility are fundamental to GS Energy’s long term growth strategy. GS Energy is organized into four interrelated segments: Exploration & Production, Refining & Petrochemicals, Gas & Power and Green Growth. Our integrated business model allows us to capture synergies among our different segments and activities. Our upstream businesses include the development of oil & gas projects across the globe, from the Middle East to the Americas and Southeast Asia. Further downstream, GS Energy is currently constructing a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in South Chungcheong Province to optimize value chain integration and to ultimately provide a steady flow of electric power and gas to customers through various subsidiaries and affiliates. Furthermore, given our focus on sustainable growth, we have been actively developing our technical know-how in the alternative energy sector.
    [Show full text]
  • Violent Repression in Burma: Human Rights and the Global Response
    UCLA UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal Title Violent Repression in Burma: Human Rights and the Global Response Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/05k6p059 Journal UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal, 10(2) Author Guyon, Rudy Publication Date 1992 DOI 10.5070/P8102021999 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California COMMENTS VIOLENT REPRESSION IN BURMA: HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE GLOBAL RESPONSE Rudy Guyont TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................ 410 I. SLORC AND THE REPRESSION OF THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT ....................... 412 A. Burma: A Troubled History ..................... 412 B. The Pro-Democracy Rebellion and the Coup to Restore Military Control ......................... 414 C. Post Coup Elections and Political Repression ..... 417 D. Legalizing Repression ........................... 419 E. A Country Rife with Poverty, Drugs, and War ... 421 II. HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN BURMA ........... 424 A. Murder and Summary Execution ................ 424 B. Systematic Racial Discrimination ................ 425 C. Forced Dislocations ............................. 426 D. Prolonged Arbitrary Detention .................. 426 E. Torture of Prisoners ............................. 427 F . R ape ............................................ 427 G . Portering ....................................... 428 H. Environmental Devastation ...................... 428 III. VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ....... 428 A. International Agreements of Burma .............. 429 1. The U.N.
    [Show full text]
  • Spring–Summer 2021 Contents
    HURST PUBLISHERS SPRING–SUMMER 2021 CONTENTS General Interest 1–17 African Studies 27–30 Current Affairs 18 Middle East Studies 31–34 History 19 Politics 35 Religion 20 Critical Muslim 36 Travel Writing 21 New in Paperback 37–43 War Studies 22–25 Recent Highlights 44–47 Sociology 26 Index & Contact Info 48 Cover image: ‘Protected Pangolin’ Illustration © Farai Wallace 2020. GENERAL INTEREST STEPHEN VINES Defying the Dragon Hong Kong and the World’s Largest Dictatorship Defying the Dragon tells a remarkable story of audacity: of how the people of Hong Kong challenged the authority of the People’s Republic of China, just as its president reached the height of his powers. Is Xi’s China as unshakeable as it seems? What are its real interests in Hong Kong? Why are Beijing’s time-honoured ways and means no longer working there? And where does this leave the Hongkongers themselves? Stephen Vines has lived in Hong Kong for over three decades, described by the last governor, Lord Patten, as ‘one of Hong Kong’s most distinguished and long-serving March 2021 journalists’. In this book he unpacks the 9781787384552 history of the Hong Kong–China relationship 216mm x 138mm and its wider significance—right up to the 352pp astonishing convergence of political turmoil £20.00 Hardback and international insecurity amidst Covid-19. Politics / China World English rights Vividly describing the 2019–20 uprising from street level, Vines explains how and why it unfolded and charts its enormous, global repercussions. Now, amidst the pandemic, the international community is reassessing its relationship with Beijing, at the very moment when Hong Kong’s rebellion has exposed the regime’s inherent weakness.
    [Show full text]
  • The Geopolitics of Change in Burma Bertil Lintner
    Asian Studies Centre, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford Southeast Asia Seminars Wednesday 20th January, 2 p.m. Deakin Room, Founder’s Building, St Antony's College The Geopolitics of Change in Burma Bertil Lintner Independent Journalist and Author The United States and the West did not change their policy of isolating Burma because of their concerns were primarily with the lack of democracy and human rights. It was "the China factor". Burma was becoming a vassal of China, which was seen as a threat to the status quo and regional stability. At the same time, Burma's military was also concerned about China's growing influence and realised that it has to reach out to the West to avoid being absorbed by Chinese political, economic and strategic interests. But in order to "woo the West" they also realised that they had to liberalise the country's rigid political system - but not in a way that would jeopardise their hold on power. Bertil Lintner was born in Sweden in 1953 and left for Asia in 1975. He spent 1975-79 traveling in the Asia-Pacific region (the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and New Zealand). He has been living permanently in Thailand since December 1979, working as a journalist and author. Mr Lintner was a freelance journalist until March 1988, when he was employed by the Far Eastern Economic Review of Hong Kong (for which he began writing on a free-lance basis in 1982) as its Burma correspondent. Later, he also covered a wide range of issues for the Review such as organized crime, ethnic and political insurgencies, and regional security.
    [Show full text]